Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

Monday, February 12, 2007

State lawmakers held a phony debate at the Capitol last week over whether to abolish Colorado's death penalty. Some lawmakers and witnesses spoke in favor of House Bill 1094, others spoke against Some contended that abolishing the death penalty would be such a big deal that voters should have the last word by way of a referendum.

But the debate was surreal, for the following reason: For all practical purposes, the death penalty already has been abolished here. In the past 40 years, since 1967, there has been exactly one execution, and that was 10 years ago.

In other words, it would hardly be a big deal to abolish the death penalty in statute. It would merely recognize that for all practical purposes the penalty no longer exists in any meaningful sense at all.

It's time to abolish the death penalty in statute since its unofficial demise occurred many years ago.............lawmakers should end the waste, frustration and pretense of the present law and give the death penalty its permanent burial.